Tips for a newcomer?

[BrewMaster]

Hi everyone,

I've been browsing the forums for a few days and picking up some good information here and there. I was hoping I could start a thread to help me and other newcomers in this industry. My apologizes if there already is a similar or existing thread for this matter.

A few questions I would love to get some valuable input on:


I plan to sell coffee online, what are some things I should know about this practice?

What sells better, .5 bags or 1lb bags of coffee?

How much does the design of coffee bag affect sales? Does a gusseted coffee bag get more sales than a tin-tie bag?

How much should I be paying per pound of already roasted coffee? The coffee I intend to buy is described as "gourmet" and imported from Central America.

What is the best way to ship these packages to individual consumers?

What are some things you wish you would have known earlier about the coffee industry?



As more questions get answered I'll try to make a short guide based off your responses Thanks!

 

[PinkRose]

Hello "BrewMaster"

Welcome to the Coffee Forums website.

As you continue to browse the Forum categories, you will see that many of your questions have been answered and discussed in a variety of places.

I'm not sure how much of a response you'll get for all of your questions. I'm thinking most members will wait until you've been actively participating in the Forum for a while before investing a lot of time responding to your post. Unfortunately, many people post one time to the Forum and then they never return - not even to view the responses.

Are you really planning to sell coffee on-line, or did you just make that up to go along with your list of questions?

Rose

 

[John P]

BrewNovice,

It's your lucky day. I am bored enough to answer your questions. And it's obvious that you either are 1) Not selling coffee and conducting a poorly executed survey 2) Think you will be selling coffee, but you know absolutely nothing.


I plan to sell coffee online, what are some things I should know about this practice?

Sell your own coffee. Selling other coffee online has no value. Also, be a professional. Study the market, know the connection between quality, COGS, and final pricing. If you don't understand the basics of the business, do something else. It's not amateur hour.

What sells better, .5 bags or 1lb bags of coffee? Neither.

How much does the design of coffee bag affect sales? Does a gusseted coffee bag get more sales than a tin-tie bag?
It depends on how you have established yourself through your positioning and marketing strategies and how everything works together to support said position. Unless you have a marketing budget of greater than 1 million per year, good coffee sells better than bad coffee.

How much should I be paying per pound of already roasted coffee? The coffee I intend to buy is described as "gourmet" and imported from Central America. If you are selling already roasted coffee, that's imported and "gourmet", then you are looking for the lowest level of mind-numbingly stupid customers on the planet. If you have any ethics whatsoever, you wouldn't even consider it.

What is the best way to ship these packages to individual consumers? Depends on volume. Make some calls.

What are some things you wish you would have known earlier about the coffee industry? How there is never a shortage of lazy, wannabes asking questions like, "What are some things you wish you would have known earlier about the coffee industry?"

 

[peterjschmidt]

Here's the ironic part of all this... John has been very helpful, but will most likely be viewed as very unhelpful.


It's the juxtaposition of a person who has spent years of passionate labor perfecting everything he knows about coffee versus someone who sees coffee as a commodity to trade in and make money.

 

[ensoluna]

giving you a benefit of doubt !
a. on line sales : keep the roasted coffee fresh. or ground coffee if customer prefers. Never ship old coffee. never.
b. either 12oz or 16oz
c.simple classic design bag that has all the essential information about the coffee you are selling. Valve bag for roasted and vacuum for ground.
d. if you want to offer fresh coffee, you rather roast by yourself or hire someone professional to do it. if you want to import "roasted coffee" from central american, you'd better make it sure that you can sell the coffee in a month or so because valve bag's freshness can last only up to month. Still it is losing freshness every single day.
e. you can use UPS, FEDEX or even USPS with TRACKING #. whichever offer you the best rate.
f. if you are a business man who want to use coffee as a form of business, then keep the balance between coffee vs. business. about 50% to 50%.
however, if you are 100% passionate about coffee, forget the on-line coffee sales.

hopefully this helps.

 

[ensoluna]

valve bag's freshness can last only up to month.

properly valved bag's freshness can last up to ..... 3 month or so. some of companies claims to last up to 6 month or even a year, but i does not.

 

[peterjschmidt]

d. if you want to offer fresh coffee, you rather roast by yourself or hire someone professional to do it. if you want to import "roasted coffee" from central american, you'd better make it sure that you can sell the coffee in a month or so because valve bag's freshness can last only up to month. Still it is losing freshness every single day.

Here's an experiment for you;

Take some coffee that was roasted today, brew it, take notes. Brew it again tomorrow, take notes. Repeat every day for 2 weeks.

You'll notice a bell curve of coffee flavors. As the beans outgas (rest) for a few days, you'll notice flavors developing. The flavors will peak and plateau, with coffee type and roast level being the determining factors, for a week to ten days. Then you'll notice flavors gradually tapering with nuance and complexity suffering.

Because I roast and have access to a constant flow of fresh coffees, I generally won't bother with coffee that's two weeks old. And I won't sell coffee that's more than a few days out of the roaster.

 

[ensoluna]

i completely agree with peterjschmidt comment about freshness of roasted coffee.
however, i was giving my input based on "importing roasted coffee from central america" question from brewmaster.
if anyone knows anything about coffee, i am certain that they will all know that roasted coffee loses it's freshness by seconds.

 

[John P]

Yes,

Any notion that coffee lasts past 2-3 weeks from roast date simply is not true.

Also, per exactly the reasons illustrated in my latest column, see HERE, you should never be selling ground coffee... well, if you dislike your customers and the coffee you sell, and you want to intentionally give paying customers immediately and rapidly staling coffee that you charge the same price for as your whole bean coffee then....

 

[PinkRose]

John,

If someone buys whole beans from you, and if they don't yet have a grinder at home, do you refuse to grind the beans for them if they ask you to?

If so, how do you politely turn down the request?

 

[ensoluna]

John,

If someone buys whole beans from you, and if they don't yet have a grinder at home, do you refuse to grind the beans for them if they ask you to?

If so, how do you politely turn down the request?

i think that not everyone is as fanatic and passionate about coffee as John P. it can be a good thing, but not if you are a business person. I always says to coffee friends that if you have 100% passion about coffee, it is very difficult to make a good business out of it. also, if your business side is way bigger than coffee passion, then, again, it is not good.

I believe that no one is born with "specialty coffee" in mind. Coffee is an acquired taste, as we get older and more experienced in life, coffee (as entire industry and knowledge of coffee) can be a great friend and a tool to enrich your life. When I was a kid, growing up in Korea, it was a great treat to get a sip of instant & sweet coffee from my mother who guarded her "taster's choice" with her life. then, I came to USA and got to know drip coffee, Starbucks, Peet's coffee and slowly but surely moved on to specialty coffees. And I must say.. that took many many years to get here, mainly because "I did not have coffeeforums.com or anyone to advise me".

now, surprisingly, I am a part owner of few coffee farms, factory, laboratory in Guatemala, and selling very specialty coffees all over the world and inviting coffee friends to Guatemala to check out Anacafe, El Injerto and our factory & farms to get wonderful experience. Who knew !

I believe that knowing coffee is an adventure and it is a very slow process, like learning how to cup, how to roast. It never comes one days. Even now, I am studying about coffee few hours a day and finding something new every single day.

What I am trying to say here is that everyone has to start somewhere. I can see a lot of people who joins this forum for certain purpose. some for strictly business. some who got bored with life, some who really like sweet instant coffee, but wanted to learn something more.... I think that we need to give them benefit of doubts. Not all of them are coffee experts. Not all of them roast coffee at home and grind them right before they do Chemex. I even met some "coffee guy" who thought Pacamara was a city in Panama.

I guess it does not really matter what kind of stage of coffee experience we are in or they are in.
if you ask me, I joined this forum to learn about coffee, learn about people & appreciate what they are teaching me and also give information to people who was like me 20 years ago, just starting, so that i can make their progress faster, and being helpful.

I think that is the main thing about coffee. Coffee culture is as complex as human cultures. however, it is a small coffee world, but a great one. I do not know what others feel about some novices just joining the forum, but for me, I will give them as much as I know, so that they have the opportunity to acquire the taste of wonderful coffee, as fast and early as they can.

 

[John P]

PinkRose,

As it is something we do not do, we are not refusing anything.
We don't have any bulk grinders. Everything is brewed by the cup.

If someone wants to use coffee of our caliber, they will invest in a grinder. People who want pre-ground coffee really aren't interested in buying these kinds of coffees. Great coffee, like great food, is not a convenience. It takes care and time to prepare.

 

[BrewMaster]

Thanks for those that have given me the benefit of the doubt. My sincere apologizes if I have offended or insulted your trade in any sort of way. This is something that I want to learn more about. Finding information on the internet regarding this widely diverse industry is difficult and scarce. Personally I came here to learn from people who are my senior in experience. If I have to make a few stupid questions and look silly to help me get further, I'm okay with that. I appreciate the time all of you took in helping me answer some of my questions.

 

[ensoluna]

Thanks for those that have given me the benefit of the doubt. My sincere apologizes if I have offended or insulted your trade in any sort of way. This is something that I want to learn more about. Finding information on the internet regarding this widely diverse industry is difficult and scarce. Personally I came here to learn from people who are my senior in experience. If I have to make a few stupid questions and look silly to help me get further, I'm okay with that. I appreciate the time all of you took in helping me answer some of my questions.

thanks for the post BrewMaster. I do not know about others, but for me, I do not mind answering your questions.
you can PM me if you do not want others to see what you are asking.
however, I am from coffee farm / factory / cupping laboratory side of coffee business, so what I can answer you is also limited.
i am here to learn about coffees, just like you.
So, please do not get discouraged and be "active and good participant" in our coffee forums because it is for everyone, not just few privileged people.
I got to know something coffee by asking a lot of "so called stupid" questions.
so be my guest. :+)

 

[eldub]

I don't see any added value on selling beans online that someone else roasted. The coffee won't be fresh. Folks buying directly from the roaster will get a better product. Profit margins are far better for those who roast and sell than they are for folks paying to have the product roasted.